A farmer fuelled by passion
Karl Thöni
Anyone who meets Karl Thöni from the small hamlet of Wies in Langtaufers/Vallelunga quickly realises that here is a man of the mountains who prefers to let numbers speak for themselves rather than waste words.
50 East Frisian dairy sheep, one boar, two sows, around 40 piglets annually, two border collies named Milli and Lucky, three strong Noriker horses – and every summer he heads up to the Alpine pastures, where for 47 years he has worked as a shepherd tending around 800 sheep from nine different farmers.
In the mountains for 47 years
From shepherd to organic farmer
Karl Thöni was born with a passion for sheep. Today, at the age of 58, he spends every summer on the Alpine pastures and looks after the herds of nine farmers. “It’s harder work here on the farm than up there with the sheep”, he says with a grin. While he is herding, his wife Erika runs the farm. Every now and then, the two switch jobs for a few weeks – then Erika goes to the Alpine pastures in Switzerland and Karl looks after their own animals.
Fuelled by passion
Circular economy
Karl is not just a shepherd fuelled by passion. He is a master of the circular economy. His pigs receive fresh whey daily from the Hohenegger family’s Gamsegghof farm – a valuable source of protein that makes the meat particularly tender. The animals are fed fresh grass in summer and dried Alpine herbs in winter. Everything natural, everything from the farm’s own cultivation. His farm has been organic certified since 2005, and twice a week he delivers the milk from his sheep to the Gamsegghof cheese dairy, where it is turned into a delicious sheep’s cheese.
Karl Thöni
His farm & his values
East Frisian dairy sheep 01
Robust and fertile
The breed comes from the flat north of Germany – an unusual contrast to the mountainous landscape in Vinschgau/Val Venosta. However, Karl likes working with the East Frisian milk sheep because they are robust, early-maturing and fertile. However, his ram is a headstrong animal: “He’s impossible in the pasture, he’s bound to butt someone over”, explains Karl. But the ram’s protective instinct is also a sign that the animals are strong and healthy.
Whey from the Gamsegghof farm 02
A win for everyone
Karl Thöni gets whey from the Hohenegger family’s cheese dairy. What is a waste product for other farms becomes valuable feed for his pigs. The whey makes the pork more tender. This collaboration is a perfect example of regional circular economy. Everything stays in the valley, and everything is certified organic.
Six hectares of land 03
Three more on lease
On his farm, Karl Thöni cultivates six hectares of his own land and a further three hectares are on lease. He produces most of the feed for his animals himself: in summer there’s fresh grass, in winter hay flowers. Animal welfare and organic production.
Family business03
Everyone chips in
His three children Johanna, Simon and Manuel also lend a hand. Son Simon, the middle child, has inherited his parents’ passion for farming and can well imagine following in their footsteps. Karl has been taking him along to tend the sheep since he was a baby.
Regional organic delights
What Karl provides for us
Karl Thöni has been supplying Bio Hotel Panorama with organic meat from free-range farming for many years: pigs (around 20 pigs a year), lambs and sheep. All the animals are naturally fed – with fresh grass in summer and fragrant hay flowers in winter. It was Friedrich’s idea for Karl Thöni to start selling his meat – today Panorama is one of his most loyal customers.
